The Loop Technique
Many animations use “the loop” which allows them to only focus on a few drawings but reuse them to create the idea of continuous movement. This is seen a lot in scenes where animations walk or run.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT68BE6Rr_Y
This example is from Disney’s “Snow White”. At the beginning of the scene you will notice the dwarfs hacking at the ground, look more closely and it is shown that a “loop” technique is used. This gave the animators more time to focus on more important scenes yet give this one enough attention to make it effective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1nhIVW37CM
Another example of this is in “The Lion King” during the well-known scene “Hakuna Matata”. It can be seen throughout this clip as it is a common technique but specifically at 2.53 where the three are walking across the tree bridge and Simba starts to grow, however, the same drawings are used to progress through.